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Lafayette looks toward sustainability with SILO subdivision

Site will join slew of development near U.S. 287 and Arapahoe Road

By Anthony Hahn

Staff Writer

Posted:
11/06/2016 10:00:00 AM MST

Updated:
11/25/2016 10:01:48 AM MST

The land that could be used for the massive mixed-use development near the intersection of Arapahoe Road and U.S. 287 dubbed the SILO subdivision is formerly known as Weems or HeartEye Village. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

Plans for the massive mixed-use development dubbed the SILO subdivision — formerly known as Weems or Hearteye Village before the most recent name change — were unveiled during a Lafayette planning commission meeting last week.

Following almost a year of planning and discussion, the plans reveal even more development slated for the area surrounding the once-quiet intersection of Arapahoe Road and U.S. 287.

Eventually joining the mixed-use SILO subdivision will be the Lafayette Promenade and controversial Nine Mile Corner.

"As we all know, Boulder County is a growing and booming area," Keenan Tompkins of Cornerstone Development Company said. "And with that comes the big need for housing. With the (SILO subdivision) we wanted to provide housing that was a little bit different than you see up in Erie — something different than just cookie cutter homes."

Officially annexed into Lafayette in May after a lengthy and sometimes contentious process, the subdivision is slated to be built atop roughly 80 acres of grass fields and includes 126 single-family homes, 46 accessory dwelling units, 26 duplex homes, 80 townhomes, and up to 175 multi-family apartment homes.

Key to the plan's sustainable aspect is 28 acres of private open area including an 7.59 acre park, horse pasture and community supported agriculture (CSA) farm; 10.1 acres of public land dedication; private trails and trail connections to the future regional trail along the southern boundary of the property.

"With this development, we're also trying to maintain a very small farm on the property," Tompkins said, adding that the farm will be used to support an organic restaurant in the center of the property.

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"These types of farms are happening all over Boulder," he added. "Doing this really gives people a connectivity to their own food that's being grown on the property."

The proposed plan offers a mixture of residential land uses and includes a small percentage of commercial space within the proposed mixed use and live/work areas of the community, including the 453 residential dwelling units on approximately 249 lots, and 20,000 square feet of commercial space within the village center and the CSA farm stand.

Plans will allow for residential development that will employ energy-saving construction techniques to achieve a net zero energy development, according to Lafayette officials last month at the first planning meeting.

The project went to the planning commission in October, when Susan Weems — owner of the HeartEye Village property — architect David Kahn from Sun Studios and Keenan Tompkins of Cornerstone Contracting pitched it to the community.

In a meeting earlier this year colored by residents' objections, individuals flooded the council chambers to object to the large-scale project, many of whom voiced their objection with the development's density and the council's lack of communication on the matter.

"I was driving by these units and it just looked like Stalin had moved in," resident Bill Howland said. "I would like to see us build more family friendly housing. I would give up on the affordable part and try to focus on the long term."

As the clash between the neighboring towns continues, Lafayette officials have remained wary of letting any new development slip away.

"Strategically we want to hold the line along U.S. 287 and Arapahoe," City Administrator Gary Klaphake said in reference to the SILO subdivision. "Do you want (the development) in our city or do you want it in another city?"

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